video Archives : CultureFeed

Scholars on Schools: Interview with Carol Ann MacGregor on Catholic High Schools

August 7, 2019June 7, 2019 by The CultureFeed Team

To receive a free copy of the chapter of The Content of Their Character that corresponds with this interview, please click here and sign up for our Weekly Digest.

—

Several years ago, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at UVA launched a major research project in order to better understand the moral formation of high school students. Researchers went into ten different sectors of schools, from public schools (both urban and rural) to private schools (both religious and nonreligious) to homeschools and others. In this interview, sociologist Carol Ann MacGregor talks with veteran educator Angus McBeath about the two expectations that Catholic students perceive from their teachers. She also describes how teachers handle conflicts between student opinion and the church’s stance on social issues.

Scholars on Schools: Interview with Patricia Maloney on Charter High Schools

August 7, 2019May 15, 2019 by Joanna Breault

To receive a free copy of the chapter of The Content of Their Character that corresponds with this interview, please click here and sign up for our Weekly Digest.

—

Several years ago, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at UVA launched a major research project in order to better understand the moral formation of high school students. Researchers went into ten different sectors of schools, from public schools (both urban and rural) to private schools (both religious and nonreligious) to homeschools and others. In this interview, sociologist Patricia Maloney talks with CultureFeed Editor Joanna Breault about the concept of “grit” and how its application to lower-income students can be unfair. She also touches on what some schools are doing to help alleviate some of the challenges their students face.

“Kind Cougars” practice compassion

January 28, 2021March 12, 2018 by The CultureFeed Team

Irving Middle School’s “Kind Cougars” are highlighting important character virtues in a series of “virtue of the month” videos to encourage classmates to be kind and thoughtful toward one another.

Norman, Oklahoma, students Sutton and Connor Willis, Eva Condon, and Nora and Luke Morrow acted out a scenario to illustrate compassion for a February video, and they encouraged their classmates to document and share compassionate acts on campus.

“Compassion means feeling sympathetic or pity for those who are hurting or in pain,” Luke Morrow said.

“We’re going to use the hashtag #IMSvirtues,” the students said. “Anytime you see someone showing compassion, take a picture and post it on Instagram with the hashtag.”

Any student who shares will be entered into a drawing to win a special prize.

Compassion is a virtue that researcher Jeff Guhin documented in many urban public schools through his research for the Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture. In The Content of Their Character, a summary of character formation in a variety of schools, Guhin notes:

Alongside the focus at all six of the schools on student achievement, the teachers, staff, and administrators all deeply prized compassion, especially in each other, and then to some extent in their students.

The Kind Cougars video is part of an initiative with the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing at the University of Oklahoma, which offers further reading on compassion.